Los Angeles to compete with Google Fiber

It sounds ridiculous, but the City of Los Angeles is attempting to compete with Google Fiber. The deal involves LA handing over the keys to the city in exchange for a multi-billion dollar payment and gigabit fiber for every resident. In some sense it appears that the City wants a monopoly that is not Google.

This crazy offer includes similar stipulations to what Google Fiber is offering elsewhere in the US. There must be slow, but free internet available to whomever wants it, Fiber will connect to all public WiFi, and residents will gain access to gigabit fiber service at prices similar to Google Fiber, including TV and phone service.

It begs the question, can anyone afford to do this? And then, if so, how long does the contract last? It almost seems that the City of LA has a company in mind and that as a gesture of good faith has merely offered it up to everyone, before it takes the particular contract.

The City of Los Angeles is getting down to business with this proposal, the real question is, who’s crazy enough to do it?